Two Colorado chefs and restaurateurs struck gold at the “Oscars” of the food industry on Monday, taking home top awards from the James Beard Foundation. Chef Kelly Whitaker and partner, Erika Whitaker, co-founders of Id Est Hospitality Group, earned the award for Outstanding Restaurateur among five finalists from around the country. Id Est boasts award-winning restaurants like Michelin-starred The Wolf’s Tailor and BRUTØ in Denver and Basta in Boulder, as well as the newish Hey Kiddo in Denver.
Matt Vawter, owner of Rootstalk in Breckenridge , won the title for Best Chef in the Mountain Region — which includes Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming — out of five finalists, including Denver’s chef Penelope Wong, co-owner of Yuan Wonton in Park Hill. “What a moment, holy crap..
.,” Erica Whitaker said in her acceptance speech. “When we founded Id Est, our daughter was a year old, and now we’re just 10 days shy of her 16th birthday, and she’s here tonight.
..” “.
..We own seven restaurants, but we also have engaged in so many different conversations around our food supply systems and been food advocates,” Kelly Whitaker added.
“All these things are possible: to have restaurants, to have a family and to get involved. “This year alone, we’ve contracted and built with farmers over 200 acres of regenerative land, we’re growing grains and milling flour. This isn’t just applicable to our tasting-menu restaurants, it’s applicable to a pizza or .
